Spinning toys



June 30, 1 959 A. WEINSTEIN SPINNING TOYS Filed April 29, 1951 United States Patent 6) 92, 8 SP N NG OYS.

AlbertWeinstein, Wilton Woods, Var.

A a on. Avr l-1 257; Ser a !.6.55 ,4

1 Claim. ci.-4is;--.s9

T s nv ti nr ates to new. nd. sei lii mgrq sm ms in, toys, particularly spinning toys, a d; thepri 1' object t h nve e i o p vid a highly, eg erta pi r tusot t nat e whi h .cgmpr es,asP nem nside c hereromhe pi embe P 1 n: e rm 9 a s w a e. 9ldei 'wmmQ 1y u n irthday s les, or he like- 'mpprtant feature of the invention,thereforeresides a ulia ae S s tia y o ve nelh and hglderr a he nnl l ia m mbe the ana r ms. e an9 hfi i IllPQ IQL F. eature residee in the structural arrangement o fdhe spinning, device itself, t ed; n. a i at g 1 ritl k w th a i gerrni e auis .wh by. h, de

Qw fi hg draperie lieiIiX P i n. simplicity of construction, in its efiicientand entertaining operation, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture With the above more important objects and features in view and such otherobjects and; features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds the-invention will be understood from the following escriptiolr itaken. in conjunctionwith the accompanyin drawings, wherein lilgj characters of reference are usedfto designate like pants, andwherein:

" Figure 1. is,a front end view of thespi nning device;

, Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view there initial position before the same is actuated;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectionalr view, similar to thayshown in Figure 2, but with the, mechani sni in a position where the trigger has been nearly fully pressed and the cam member actuated thereby is about to be released;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the relationship of the trigger and cam member when the trigger is returning to its initial position; and

Figure 5 is a group perspective view showing a portion of the spinner shaft with its socket and the spinning member cooperable therewith.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the spinning toy in accordance with the invention comprises a spinning member 10 and a spinning device 11 therefor, the member 10 being substantially in the form of a candle holder such as is used on birthday cakes, or the like, and including the usual tapered stem 12 provided with an enlarged head 13, as will be clearly apparent. Although the conventional candle holder may be used as such, it is preferred that the stem 12 thereof be provided with a laterally projecting pin 14, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

The spinning device 11 comprises a pistol-like housing 15, in the barrel portion of which is rotatably journalled a vertical spinner shaft 16, the same having shoulders or collars 17 thereon to prevent its longitudinal displacement. The shaft 16 is preferably in the form of a tube and the upper end portion thereof which projects upwardly from the housing constitutes a socket 18 in 2,892,287 P tent ne 0, .59;-

ICC

2 which the lower end portion of the stem 12 of the spinning member 10 is adapted to be operatively antL separably received. As is best shown in Figure 5, the.hol-,. low shaft 16 is provided at least at one side and preferably at diametrically opposite sides of the socket 18., with arcuate or cam-shaped slots 19 which are open at their upper ends and are adapted to receive selectively. thereinthe aforementioned laterally projecting pin 14, ofv the stem 12. In this manner, when the stem 12, isQ, inserted in. the socket 18 and the pin, 14 is received in either of the slots. 19, a positive driving connection is, established between the shaft 16 and the spinning meme, her 19, so that when the shaft is rotated, the spinning, member rotates therewith. Moreover, if, rotation of the; shaft is.- abruptly discontinued, the arrangement of the; cana -shaped slots 19 is such as to impart a propelling, force to the pin 14, in an. axial direction with. respect: to -the, shaft, whereby the rotating member 10 ,is ejected} frorn'the socket 18 upon actuation of thespinning device;

The means for rotating the shaft 16 consist of a fiex ible element 20, such as a length of cord, or the like, which. has its intermediate portion, threaded through. a transverse aperture 21 formedv in the shaft 16 and. is, wound around the shaft, as shown. One end of the, cord. 20 is attached. to. a suitable tension spring 22 which," irrturn, is anchored to a transverse stud 23 in the housin 151 The other end of the cord 20v is attached to, the upper. portion 24. of a cam member 25, which is, pivotally and shiftably mounted in. the housing 15 on. at tr an syers e pin or stud 26. The member 25, which may be of, a, conventionaltype such as is commonly. used in, toy pistols, is provided. with. slots 27 to. swingably andg slid ablyireceive the pin 26, and a compression spring, 28, hayingfone end thereofv anchored on the pin. 26, abuts: apor tion, 29 of the member 25 so asto urge the latter, in the general direction of the shaft 16 and, specifically, against the stud 23.. which functions as a stop therefor.

A. trigger..30, whi ch may alsobe of. a conventionaltype, cornrnonlylfused. in toy pistols, is pivotally. mounted on transversepin 31 and projectsoutwardly. from the house; ingT ISIthrough a, suitable slot or opening 32-, the trigger, being. biased to its initial or inactive position shown in, Figure 2 v by. a tension, spring 33 which extends from the; trigger to a transverseanchor. pin orfstud. 34 in the an n The trigger is provided with a detent portion 35 which is operatively engageable with the lower edge portion 36 of the cam member 25, as will be hereinafter described.

When the device is to be used, the spinning member 10 is first applied thereto by inserting the stem 12 thereof into the socket 18 of the shaft 16 so that the pin 14 is received in either one of the slots 19, as shown in Figure 2. When the trigger 30 is pressed in the direction of the arrow 37, the detent 35 of the trigger will come in engagement with the lower edge of the portion 36 of the cam member 25 and the latter will be swung by continued movement of the trigger, about the pin 26 in a rearward direction, that is, away from the shaft 16, as will be apparent from Figure 3. As this occurs, the end of the cord 20 attached to the cam member 25 will be pulled and the shaft 16 will be caused to rotate by virtue of having the intermediate portion of the cord Wound thereon, so that while the portion of the cord attached to the cam member 25 is becoming unwound from the shaft, the cord portion attached to the spring 22 is simultaneously becoming wound on the shaft and, as a result, the spring 22 is stretched.

Ultimately, in the fully pressed position of the trigger, the detent 35 becomes disengaged from the portion 36 of the cam member 25 and, with the cam member thus free-d, the stretched spring 22 will swiftly pull the end of the cord 20 attached thereto and quickly rotate the shaft Upon ejection thereof from the socket 18, thestill rapidly spinning member may be permitted to land on a fiat surface such as a floor or a table top, or the like,-

where it will continue to spin in an upright position until the force of rotation thereof is exhausted.

Inthe meantime, pressure on the trigger 30 may be relaxed, so that the latter is drawn back to its initial position by the spring 33 which has become stretched during pressing of the trigger. Since by that time the cam member 25 has already returned to its initial position under the combined action of the spring 28 and the pull of the spring 22 on the cord 20, the trigger 30, in its return movement, will engage the portion 36 with its detent 35 and will press the same rearwardly as indicated by the arrow 38 in Figure 4. As a result, the rearward movement of the cam member will occur by virtue of the slidable accommodation of the stud 26 in the slots 27, whereby sufficient clearance is afforded for the trigger detent 35 to clear the cam member portion 36 so as to facilitate return of the trigger to its initial position.

It is to be noted that the stem 12 and pin 14 of the spinning member 10 may be readily inserted in the socket 18 and slots 19, so that several spinning members may be employed and applied to the spinning device in rapid succession as they are individually ejected therefrom.

While the drawings show and the foregoing specification describes the spinning member 10 as being in the form of a cake candle holder, it is to be understood that any other suitable spinning member or top may be used.

The housing readily lends itself to fabrication from plastic material, or the like, preferably in the form of two complemental half-sections to permit installation of the various parts of the mechanism therein, which halfsections may subsequently be joined together in any suitable manner along the longitudinal medial line of the housing.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the invention to this disclosure, and various modifications may be resorted to, such as may lie within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is:

A spinning device of the character described, comprising in combination, a pistol-shaped housing including a simulated barrel portion and a hand grip portion, a vertical spinner shaft rotatable in and projecting upwardly from the barrel portion of said housing, the projecting portion of said spinner shaft being adapted to operatively engage a spinning member, a transverse stud provided in said housing at a point spaced rearwardly from said shaft, a tension spring anchored at one end thereof to said stud, a flexible element having its intermediate portion wound around said shaft and having one end thereof connected to the other end of said spring, a transverse pivot pin provided in said housing rearwardly and downwardly from said stud, a substantially triangular cam member having a lower portion provided with an arcuate slot movably receiving said pivot pin therein whereby the cam member may swing forwardly and rearwardly on said pivot pin with said stud constituting stop means for the upper portion of the cam member when the latter is in its forwardly swung position, the other end of said flexible element being connected to the upper portion of the cammember, a depressible trigger pivotally mounted in said housing forwardly of and below said cam member for swinging movement between initial and depressed positions, resilient means provided in the housing for urging said trigger to its initial position, said trigger including a detent operatively engageable with the lower portion of said cam member for swinging the latter rearwardly on said pivot pin when the trigger is depressed, and resilient means for urging said cam member to a position on said pivot pin wherein the cam member is operatively engageableby the detent of said trigger when the latter is depressed, said cam member being shiftable in said slot thereof on said pivot pin against the action of said last mentioned resilient means to permit the depressed trigger to return to its initial position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 922,842 Bohn a May 25, 1909 1,211,870 Newton Jan. 9, 1917 1,550,705. Koncinsky Aug. 25, 1925 1,573,527 Simonek Feb. 16, 1926 1,677,368 Renetzky July 17, 1928 2,398,615 Brewer Apr. 16, 1946 2,481,337 Palken et al Sept. 6, 1949 i FOREIGN PATENTS 305,913 Germany June 26, 1917 

